Changes made in residential and student life programs

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Dean for Student Life Larry D. Benedict has reorganized the Office of Residential Life and Student Life Programs, naming an associate dean for student life programs to co-direct the office with Karen A. Nilsson, director for housing operations. ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½

Barbara A. Baker, dean of student development and residential education at Duke University for six years, has been named associate dean for student life programs. She is in charge of fraternities, sororities and independent living groups (FSILGs), residential programming, the Public Service Center and student activities.ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ "The office of RLSLP plays a critical role in the lives of our students, and to have someone of Barbara's caliber join us to guide the programmatic element of that office is very exciting indeed," Benedict said in making the announcements.

Before she joined the Dean's Office at Duke in 1995, Baker was director of the Office of Residential Life at Syracuse University for five years. Before that, she was associate director (1986-89) and an area coordinator (1980-86) in Syracuse's Office of Residence Services. She also has held positions in student life at the University of Chicago and the University of Vermont.

"The opportunity to continue my work with student life at MIT is a privilege and a challenge," said Baker, who has a B.A. in political science from Ohio Wesleyan University and an M.A. in higher education administration from Michigan State University.

Nilsson, who came to MIT as a house manager at Burton-Conner in 1985, directs the management of undergraduate residence halls, graduate housing and off-campus housing, as well as construction and renovation. She has worked in operations in both Housing and Facilities during her 16-year MIT career.

David N. Rogers, assistant coordinator of Greek life at the University of Connecticut in Storrs since 1997, has been named assistant dean and director of FSILGs, reporting to Baker. Rogers joined Sigma Phi Epsilon as an undergraduate at Lynchburg College, where he earned a B.A. in English in 1993. He is New England coordinator for the Association of Fraternity Advisors and was the Greek advisor and resident director at Merrimack College from 1995-97. ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ "I hope to engage the members of the FSILG community in helping them build a community that values mutual respect, diversity, achievement and lifelong friendships," said Rogers, who received the M.S. in human development and family studies from the University of Rhode Island at Kingston in 1995.

"Some 30 percent of our student body lives in the FSILGs and it was clear to me when we arrived that we needed to put more resources into that system," Benedict said. "With David's arrival and the other staff we've brought on board, we're now in a position to be more supportive of all our students."

Denise A. Vallay, who has been at MIT for five years, has been named manager of undergraduate housing, reporting to Nilsson. She worked at the Laboratory for Computer Science and the Office of Academic Services before joining RLSLP last year. Before her promotion, she worked with Rogers as a coordinator for the FSILGs.

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 3, 2001.